(Edit: Killing Floor 2 is one of the free PSN giveaways for June 2017 and is NOT free-to-play. There is also a promotion running right now where you can save $10 on a year of PSN. It might be a good time to opt-in and nab this game and Life Is Strange for “free.”)

Killing Floor 2 popped up on PSN the other day, so I figured “why not?” I was unfamiliar with the original Killing Floor, but soon found myself looking into that as well. My first impression of Killing Floor 2 was “oh, so this is basically Call of Duty Zombies but as a free-to-play game.” While that initial observation holds true, Killing Floor 2 has a lot to offer for a F2P game. The progression system and achievements keep you coming back for more, while the variety of weapons and beautiful (if nightmarish) graphics are a treat.

THIS GAME IS DARK AND GORY! My new description of the game is somewhere in-between Call of Duty Zombies, Doom, and Left 4 Dead. You have the graphics and monstrous enemies of Doom, weapons and co-op mechanics reminiscent of L4D, and the overall game is a surviving waves of undead enemies a la COD. That said, this game does it well and I do not mean to imply is steals or even liberally borrows from any of those games. While mildly repetitive after playing almost non-stop for a few days, KF2 also has a Zed VS Human mode where you can take on the role of zombie creatures to assist the waves of zombie hordes. While this mode could use some more polish, it does help mix things up.

If you are looking for a fun zombie, survival, or co-op game, Killing Floor 2 is will keep you pleasantly entertained for without costing you a dime.

If you’ve ever played a video game, your probably know something about World of Warcraft, the premier MMORPG that transformed the gaming industry as we know it. While rumor has it that WoW is on the downslope, it still has an enormous community of dedicated players adventuring and questing through it’s massive world.

You may also know that World of Warcraft is a subscription based game, meaning you pay monthly for your account, similar to services like Netflix. While longtime fans can easily justify this small expense for this one-of-a-king game, us frugal gamers may be put off by the idea of forking out money every month to play a game.

Good news!

Recently, in a strategy to attract new blood into World of Warcraft, you can now play the “Starter Edition” for free which allows you to play up to level 20 totally free. There are a few limitations as to what you can do, such as limited chat, trading, creating parties, and the auction house, but there is still plenty of fun to be had soloing WoW through the early levels.

I started a Goblin character and got pretty overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of the starting area. I took a break, and came back a few months later and started a Troll. Using the random name generator, Zergzerbek (I think they are literally running out of names) and I had a solid 3 weeks of adventuring to get him up to level 20. I thoroughly enjoyed my first serious foray into the World of Warcraft, and it felt good reaching the milestone of maxing out a character in the Starter Edition. Now I’m not one for hardcore MMO gameplay and endgame content, but just a casual RPG fan. So while I’m sure I would enjoy delving deeper into the game and getting up to level 100+ with the paid version, I sincerely enjoyed my weeks-long journey to level 20.

A few weeks later I mentioned the free version of WoW to some friends, and soon after we had a 3 person group running around and questing to level 20 as Blood Elves. You are unable to create a party with a free account, which is slightly annoying buy understandable. You can still be inviting by paying players, so it’s not as if you’re destined to solo exclusively. What we ended up doing was just running around and accepting and completing the same missions together. We also asked a few paying members to party us up and then they could leave if they wanted, and the party would stay intact. A few weeks later, we had level 20 Blood Elves.

Around Halloween last year I started an undead character and REALLY enjoyed the spooky atmosphere of that story arc. I also started a Gnome Mage and had some fun with that. I didn’t get either of them to level 20 before my interested shifted elsewhere, but all in all, I enjoyed a solid 2 months of World of Warcraft entirely free.

If you’ve ever been curious about WoW, are looking to kill some time with an MMO, or want to revisit the World of Warcraft and see what’s changed in recent years, now is a great time to hop back in and get a taste for free!

If you have an Xbox One with an Xbox Live subscription or a PC good enough to run it, Fallout 4 is free to play this weekend from XBL and Steam. The period is Thursday through Sunday, though the exact start at end times vary by console. This can be a great time for fans of the older Fallout or Elder Scrolls games to give Fallout 4 a try, or just a fun way to spend the weekend with a pretty neat game. There will also be a promotion running so you can save on buying Fallout 4 if you want to keep playing after the weekend. Sorry to PS4 users for the lack of love this time around!

I spent countless hours playing skirmish matches of Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun growing up. Age of Empires and Starcraft are great RTS series, but Command and Conquer has always been my favorite. And Tiberian Sun is my favorite of favorites. A graphics upgrade from the original C&C and Red Alert 1 make Tiberian Sun easier on the eyes, and some polishing to the game mechanics make Tiberian Sun a quick and easy game to pick up and play for new and veteran players alike. (Tiberian Sun is also fun and easy to mod!)

Whether you’re bombing your opponent with Orca Bombers, unleashing a Cyborg Commando into your opponent’s base with a Subterranean Transport, or charging through the front gates with a Mammoth Tank, Tiberian Sun features an array of near-future military units both familiar and unique.

One of my favorite parts of Tiberian Sun that sets it apart from other RTSs is the superweapons. The Brotherhood of Nod has a missile silo and GDI has an ion cannon, both of which can strike anywhere on the map, which can quickly turn the tide of any battle.

In addition to Tiberian Sun, CNCnet.org has the original Command and Conquer, Red Alert 1, and Dune 2000. There are also online peripherals and other utilities for Red Alert 2, Yuri’s Revenge, and C&C Renegade (the FPS!), those these games have not been released for free at this time. But Command and Conquer (aka Tiberian Dawn), Red Alert 1, and Tiberian Sun are 100% free whether you want a nostalgic skirmish against AI or to play online with friends. There are also downloads for mods and full conversions to stretch your Command and Conquer fun further.

For those of you who don’t already know, Blizzard released a remaster of the original Starcraft and it’s 100% free. Whether you’re a hardcore RTS fan, looking for nostalgia, or have never played this classic strategy game, now’s the perfect time to go to war!

While I’ve never played it myself as I’m a Playstation guy, Phantom Dust has been on my radar for a while now. This less-than-famous gem comes up now and then in discussions about underrated and just plain favorite games. Originally for the original Xbox, it sounds like the studio working on a remaster has been shut down and it seems their work on this title will be released for free. There is some confusion on whether this is a remaster or just a port, but PC and Xbox One gamers should be sure to grab this when they can. It earned solid 8/10s across the board and is supposed to be a pretty good and unique action-RPG.

I’m writing this post in-between Paladin matches at 2:30 am. Not because I’m an insomniac, but because this game is just too much fun too put down! Let’s not kid ourselves, Paladins is an Overwatch clone through and through. Even some of the characters are remarkably similar. But if you’re willing to overlook this simple truth, what you have is a game on par with Overwatch for FREE! Paladins is the good kind of free-to-play, where not only are the majority of the in-game purchases cosmetic, many of them can be made with in-game currency if you can handle some grinding.

Basically, Paladins pits two teams of 5 against each other in a MOBA/FPS hybrid that amazes me with its balance (Overwatch is probably owed some credit here). Choose from about 20 distinct Champions and face off in capture, escort, and attrition matches against similarly colorful characters. There is also a PvE mode and more to be unlocked, but I’m just short of getting there (probably by tomorrow evening).

I will probably owe Paladins another post with more details later on, but for now, Paladins recently hit PS4 (it’s been available on PC for a little while), and I can’t get enough. From what I remember of the Overwatch betas (which I enjoyed), Paladins might be even more fun.

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Gaming for Cheap

On this blog, I share my tricks and tips on how to enjoy the wonderful hobby of gaming, for less! As an avid gamer for over 20 years, and a natural cheapskate, I've learned a lot about how to stretch my dollar while still having an endless library of games to keep me entertained. I figured there are others out there who could benefit from my knowledge, recommendations, and keeping my ear to the ground to find awesome deals on great games.